Frozen Russian Sovereign Assets Should Remain Locked, Warns Belgian PM

The Belgian Prime Minister said that Russian state assets frozen since the start of the Ukraine conflict should remain in the Euroclear securities repository in Belgium for now. He warned that seizing these funds to support Ukraine would raise legal complications.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, G7 countries have frozen about $300 billion of Russian sovereign assets. The European Union estimates that 210 billion euros ($246 billion) of these are held within the EU, mainly as government bonds at Euroclear.

“A whole lot of these funds are immobilised in Brussels at Euroclear. I know that there are governments that are trying to seize the money. But I would like to warn that this is not so easy legally,”

Prime Minister Bart De Wever said during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin.
De Wever noted that the assets include funds from the Russian central bank that have legal immunity, meaning political decisions to seize them could lead to serious consequences.

“Other countries will also withdraw their state funds. This will have systemic consequences and is also very dangerous from a legal perspective. I believe we should keep these state funds immobilised,” he added.

He said it is acceptable to use the income generated from these funds to help Ukraine but cautioned against using the principal amounts.

“It’s like a goose that lays golden eggs. We should keep this goose. And in the end, when we talk about a peace treaty, then the goose can be put on the table … until that moment, I believe it is wise to keep the situation as it is today,” De Wever said.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has been leading renewed efforts to promote peace and end the three-and-a-half-year conflict.